The Mets couldn’t begin Game 1 of the NLCS last night, as the series opener at Shea was postponed because of pouring rain.

The game was called off approximately an hour before it was set to begin. The series will begin tonight, and Game 2 will be played tomorrow when the Mets and Cardinals were supposed to have an off day in St. Louis. According to Major League Baseball’s executive VP of baseball operations Jimmie Lee Solomon, the Game 2 time is “to be determined.”

Game 1 is tonight.

Solomon said yesterday that the call to bag the game wasn’t in response to the Manhattan plane crash that killed Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, a former Met.

“It was weather-related,” Solomon said.

The Mets were supposed to start Tom Glavine last night, facing off against St. Louis righty Jeff Weaver. That is the expected pitching matchup for tonight, although it’s possible Jeff Suppan, who had a stronger season than Weaver, could be moved up to tonight since Suppan was set to pitch tonight in Game 2.

“You’re anxious to play and you want to play and your adrenaline takes over any possible disappointment you might have in not playing,” Glavine said of the postponement. “It’s easier in the playoffs than it is in the regular season. The only big effect is on Weaver and me. We’re probably going to have to come back in Game 5 on short rest.”

David Wright, meanwhile, was glad the game was canceled last night, considering Lidle’s death.

“I think that it’s still going to be tough to focus for [today]. It’s still going to be tough to get up for a baseball game after one of our baseball brothers was just killed in an airplane accident,” Wright said. “It just makes baseball seem just very unimportant at this point, but somehow we’re going to have to regroup and focus.

“I mentioned before that there [are] four teams left that are still trying to win a World Series, and as unimportant as that seems right now, we’re somehow going to have to try to regain that focus [today]. But it’s good that we’re not playing [last night], that we could just kind of focus our thoughts and focus our concentration on just praying and hoping that Cory’s family is OK.”

Added Glavine, “I’m sure when everybody took the field, there would’ve been a little bit of sadness and putting things in perspective. But once the game got going, I’m sure everybody’s professionalism would’ve taken over and carry you through that. I’m sure it’s the kind of thing you go out there, you play your best, but for me personally, giving up a run, or a guy striking out with runners on base, or making an error, doesn’t seem to matter as much as it would.”

Additional reporting by Brian Lewis

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If you have tickets …

The Mets announced that tickets to last night’s rained-out game will be honored tomorrow for Game 2.

Ticket-holders for tonight’s game will be admitted to the NLCS opener.